Creativity is an important twenty-first century skill that involves producing new, original work that has value and meaning in its’ context. Creativity is considered to be a key ability that will promote well-being for individuals, organizations, and the society at large. It is recognized as important in surveys of educators (Berland, 2013), business leaders (Berman & Korsten, 2010) and international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Economic Forum.
In an overview of work on creativity , Lubart (2017) proposed a “7 Cs” perspective as an organizing framework. The seven C’s are: Creators, Creating, Collaboration , Context, Creations, Consumption and Curricula. The term Creators refers to studies of characteristics of creative people. Creating concerns the working process . Collaboration signifies interactions with colleagues and significant others. Context denotes the physical and social environment . Creations are the outputs or works that result. Consumption is the uptake of creations by the public, and the term Curricula refers to training and developing creativity . These different topics are interrelated. For example, the characteristics of creators, those who engage in the creative thinking , include specific cognitive abilities such as associative ability, metaphorical thinking , evaluative thinking and many others as well as knowledge . The way these different cognitive abilities and content knowledge enter into the chain of thoughts and actions that eventually lead to a production , such as an artistic work, is the process . It is impossible to examine the process without considering the resources (abilities, traits, contextual elements) that enter into play. Thus, research on the creative process is naturally situated in a specific context.
The field of creativity research has been growing steadily and within the field there is exciting work on all 7 Cs. However, not all Cs have received equal coverage. A simple search reveals, for example, that there has been a relatively greater number of studies on the characteristics of creative people. On the general topic of the creative process , there has been increasing attention in recent years. Based on the PsycINFO database, for example, searching for the term “creative process ” in the title of the article, book or chapter, there were 9 abstracts from the start of the database from 1927 to 1947, 33 abstracts from 1948 to 1967, 164 abstracts from 1968 to 1987, 251 abstracts from 1988 to 2007, and 260 abstracts from 2008 to today, which is a period of only 10 years.
The creative process is, in many ways, the hub of the 7 Cs. Creators’ abilities and traits come into play in the process , Collaboration refers to interactions with other people or with objects which have a process component, Context is where the process unfolds. Creations are the trace that results from the process . Consumption is the uptake of creative productions and itself involves a diffusion process . Finally, the last C, Curricula, refers to the development of creativity , which is a process —and often techniques to help structure the creative process are taught.
These considerations led to this volume which explores the creative process in several fields of endeavor. The domains chosen—visual arts, design , science and engineering , writing , and musical composition —represent diverse “creative” endeavors. People who work as artists , designers, scientists and engineers , writers and composers engage in the creative process as part of their core activities on the job. It should be noted that the creative process is not an exclusive activity that concerns only “creative” fields. In fact, many jobs may benefit from creativity , at least some of the time. This is the case, for example, of managers, teachers, lawyers, and a vast number of professions. In addition, the creative process is present in diverse everyday life activities, such as solving problems among friends, inventing a new dish for dinner, or engaging in recreational craft activities.
The Creative Process —What Are We Talking About?
The creative process can be defined as a sequence of thoughts and actions that comprise the production of work that is original and valuable. This initial definition codes many implicit facets of the “creative process ” concept which deserve further explanation. A “sequence ” signifies that there is a chain of events, which unrolls over time, with a beginning and, potentially, an end. This sequence may be non-linear , it may be characterized by steps or phases, or activities that come into play at certain moments in the chain of events. “Thoughts and actions” refer to both internal and external operations that contribute to the emerging production . “Production of work” denotes an outcome which may be a tangible or intangible thing that is expressed in some form. The work may be expressed visually, verbally, acoustically, mathematically, kinetically or in other ways and may have a stable, permanent or a more ephemeral nature.
The reference to “original” is important because this corresponds to the standard definition of creativity (Runco & Jaeger, 2012). The work must be different from the prior existing productions that the individual creator has made. The idea of novelty is present here as a hallmark of creativity . This novelty must be present, at least, for the person, or people, involved in the process . However, the extent to which the production is original in a wider social context (local comparison, or in the field of endeavor), the more the work will be socially deemed creative. It is possible for a person to engage in a process that leads to original work for the individual, but it is not original for other people. It is still relevant to talk about the creative process in this case.
The use of the term “valuable” reflects as well the standard definition of creativity . Creative work corresponds to a need , a goal, or fits within its’ context. This value may be appreciated by the creator and/or by the audience . It is useful to highlight the concept of “value” because this allows original, meaningless productions to be excluded from the realm of creativity .
To complete this analysis, it is useful to distinguish the creative process from the process of creation . The process of creation brings something into being. However, it may be a repetitive act that creates more of an existing item, such as standardized sequence that yields a standardized result. There is creation , but it is not necessarily original. The creative process requires novelty and value. It ...